Ways to Make & Save Money #18: Upromise

Upromise is best known as a vehicle for accruing college savings, but it’s really just another cash back site that rewards you for shopping through their links and buying specific products. You don’t even need to have a college savings account in order to save money through the program, because you can convert your savings to cash by submitting this form (pdf).

The main way to save money with Upromise is to use it as a cash back shopping portal, just like Ebates or Mr. Rebates. If you use multiple cash back sites like I do, you’ll want to use a site like Evreward to see which site is giving the most back. Sometimes it’s Upromise, sometimes it’s another site. For a while, Upromise was the only site to offer cash back at iTunes so we always went through them.

Upromise also has digital coupons that you can load to your store loyalty card – different stores are available in different areas, but I’ve registered my Ralphs (Kroger affiliate), Vons (Safeway affiliate), CVS and Rite Aid cards. Upromise digital coupons are administered by SavingStar, and many of them are the same. It looks like some of the e-coupons may be stackable, but I use them rarely so I have no personal experience.

You can save money in many other ways with Upromise, ranging from dining at specific restaurants to opening a Sallie Mae savings account. You can also get family members to register their credit cards or use your personalized shopping link so they easily can contribute to your Upromise savings without additional cost.

Once you’ve got some savings in your Upromise account, you can transfer the funds to select 529 programs, pay off select student loans, or withdraw the funds via check.

Unless you use Upromise a lot, you won’t save a ton of money. But it’s a painless and easy way to add some additional funds to your child’s college fund, or to your savings account.